Archives for November 2012

I am in the middle of reading ‘The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying’.

Published by Hay House in March 2012, this is a beautiful, powerful and moving book written by Australian musician Bronnie Ware, based on her varied life experiences, particularly those as a palliative care nurse.

It really makes you think about the importance of living life to the full, being yourself, fully embracing all life’s lessons as blessings and not allowing others, or convention, or fear, to dictate what and who you can be.

It appeals strongly to my dedication to the fulfilling of human potential, and I am finding it very inspiring and engaging, reflecting on the importance of courage – particularly the Courage to Love, which just happens to be the title of my forthcoming new edition of poetry, currently in press.

These are the top 5 regrets Bronnie details in the book:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Bronnie tells how the time she spent caring for those nearing the end of their earthly life and what she learned from them helped her to transform the way she lives, creating a career which supports her and nourishes her gifts and talents, overcoming self-doubt, and loving and accepting herself and those around her. The book emerged from a blog post which attracted massive attention, with millions of people reading, which you can find here.

It reminds me in some ways of the wonderful book by Eugene O’Kelly, ‘Chasing Daylight – How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life’, which is a real wake up call about how a highly successful man, a self-confessed ‘Type A’ leader, has to adapt to finding out he has only a few months left to live.

All this prompts me to revisit a poem I wrote a while ago for a friend who was going through some of life’s inevitable challenges, en-couraging him to take a different view on all that was happening.

Work as Play – The Heart and Spirit of Business

It seems that increasing numbers of us are looking for different ways to live in a more balanced and fulfilling way, so that we feel connected with our work.

At the heart of this is the growing desire to have a sense of purpose and a yearning for meaning in how we spend our time and make our living. We want to feel the spirit of what we do – to be inspired.

People who have been working in organisations for many years are now being asked to re-apply for their jobs, unable to take them for granted any more and having to market themselves as the best candidates. This means they are in effect becoming more entrepreneurial in their approach to their positions. And those entering or rejoining the job market need to be very clear and precise about what they offer and how they fit with prospective employers, both for their own sake in finding satisfying work, and in order to attract a suitable opportunity. (See: The ReSourceful Candidate)

Entrepreneurs, the self-employed, creatives and small business owners already know the importance of this, but sometimes, running a business or being a freelance feels more like a job that ties you down than an uplifting experience of creativity, wealth and fulfillment. And the dream you started out with becomes a drudgery that leaves you working longer and longer hours just to stand still.

I had my most recent experience as an employee in the corporate world over 11 years ago now, and friends and colleagues who’ve known me for years (and even some who haven’t known me for long!) comment on the way I’ve crafted what is essentially the perfect job for me – meeting people and asking them about their current thinking and passions, guiding, coaching and mentoring executives, leaders and business people into the best options for them so that they LOVE what they do, writing, being creative, being playful – and having lots of fun.

Most of the time, I can’t distinguish whether I’m working or playing, so that my work becomes play for me…that’s a great joy. It didn’t happen by accident – I did actually deliberately create and craft the ‘playground’ (otherwise known as workspaces!) in which I operate, and it is a highly productive space. And it evolves all the time, as I develop and learn and share with clients in workshops and individual sessions.

Poetry is a means of expressing our inner thoughts and feelings, our inspirations, insights and intimate experiences. Life is poetry – and poetry occurs all around us, in us and through us all the time.

Poetry can be harsh and demanding, soft and yielding, delicate and dreamlike – and filled with stark realism. It doesn’t have to rhyme, it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone other than the poet, and it can blissfully, wilfully ignore the rules of grammar and presentation.

And – poetry can be prose, images, short, long, scribbled on the back of an envelope or inscribed in elaborate hand on expensive paper. In essence, poetry is essence, yours, mine, ours, and it is personal yet universal, even cosmic, at the same time.

These poems are an invitation to journey through the Secret Garden of a Soul, a soul in the process of re-membering its essence and reconnecting to its authentic, joyful self.

My intention is that in reading the poems, you will find a meaning unique to your life, and that you, too, may be led to a place of inner peace and joy, a private place where your soul can dwell unfettered by mundane concerns.